The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #138945 Message #3182952
Posted By: davyr
07-Jul-11 - 05:45 AM
Thread Name: tunes for kipling verses
Subject: RE: tunes for kipling verses
It's been said that Kipling, although no musician himself, often had a tune he was already familiar with in his head when he was writing certain verses (e.g. "Run of the Downs" fitting perfectly to "Floral Dance", as noticed and performed by Peter Bellamy).
"Brown Bess", Kipling's hymn of praise to the famous British Army musket, fits very nicely to the Morris tune "Swaggering Boney" - just a coincidence, or was Kipling aware of the connection between his subject matter and the dance tune celebrating the defeat of Napoleon?
P.S. Can I claim this as Steamfolk, seeing as the alternative title for the Morris dance "Swaggering Boney" is "Travel by Steam"?